On her own style icons: “David Bowie—whom I’ve been orbiting ever since I saw The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976—and my father, Maj. Gen. Sir John Swinton. They are individuals with whom I share the same planetary DNA.”

On gender role play: “People talk about androgyny in all sorts of dull ways. Cahun looked at the limitlessness of an androgynous gesture, which I’ve always been interested in.”

On her father’s military officer uniforms: “From childhood, I remember more about his black patent, gold livery, scarlet-striped legs, and medal ribbons than I do of my mother’s evening dresses. I would rather be handsome, as he is, for an hour than pretty for a week.”

35 Responses to Tilda Swinton For W Magazine August 2011

FC, thank you! this piece sent shivers down my spine. It reminds me once again how powerful, beautiful and haunting the art of fashion can be … something that gets lost sometimes in the daily shenanigans of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian & Co.

I have to say this does nothing for me. I can see it as art photography (that is not my taste) but it doesn’t speak to me as fashion. there is nothing here I want to wear or emulate. Just my (no doubt) narrow opinion.

WOWWWWWWWWW !!! This is by far the best photoshoots ever done in the history of fashion ( I might be exaggerating …) but I found it extremely artistic. The poses, the background, the colors, the style and of course Tilda’s majestic attitudes. The is exactly why fashion is considered in itself as a piece of art. Chapeau to the photographer

I am fast becoming a big Tilda Swinton fan. She rarely does the diva look, but she always owns the camera. In any movie I’ve seen her in, she’s always the character I can’t help noticing. I love her look.

The shot with her in the Giorio Armani jacket is so beyond my favorite – I would happily add this photo to my own photography collection (which includes work by Claude Cahun, the surrealist photographer from the thirites that Tilda mentions as partial inspiration for this shoot – ohhhh yes, this whole shoot makes me happy, so beautifully done and why I love fashion!)

Oh my God, nothing makes my heart race like Tilda Swinton! She is so incredible, I really have no words to describe her. The onl thing that would make me love this more is if she dyed her hair back to ginger, and if the armani photo had been the cover. Easily the best editorial of the year, at least celebrity-wise. This may even be better than when she was in AnOther.

I love how she soooo her self.
i wanted to say she has taken risk! But she really an andrgene looking woman. Who prefers and keeps the mystery going…style Lennox today!
but this is she!
and i love her destroyed looks…..am fan of these photos also!
thx FC for featuring these great photos
I’ve totally enjoyed it how refeshing! xxxxx

Wow … powerful and stunning! She’s a dream for all the designers who design for the craft and the theatrics rather than the wearability. She makes celebrity designers look like a bunch of jesters. But ok … I’m not against retail success, for it pays the bills after all.